Economic recessions are generally very challenging times. As the economy contracts, employers typically reduce their labor forces to correspond to reduced consumer demand. However, not all employees get let go at equal rates. There are a few types of jobs that not only get retained during a recession, but actually grow. These recession-proof careers can be excellent opportunities in every economy.

Sales

While many companies contract in other areas, they grow their sales forces during recessions. After all, sales people have a direct impact on a company's gross income, which can help to balance out a weak economy. The incentive-based nature of the way that many companies pay their sales forces also makes them a safer way to grow since if the salesperson does not produce, his income goes down.

Information Technology

Information technology is recession proof simply because demand for it is so high. Even if a few companies are looking to shrink their IT forces, others will be looking to hire IT professionals to fill gaps in their staff deployment. Database administration, network administration and engineering and software engineering are all particularly good careers within the broader IT field.

Health Care

Health care remains one of the leading recession-proof industries. Regardless of the state of the economy, people still get sick and need to see the doctor. While being a doctor is an excellent way to tap in to opportunities in the industry, other health-care positions that require less training -- such as registered nurses or even home health care aides -- also do well. Most health-care support positions, which may require little or no patient contact, also fare well in recessions since the health-care business does well and needs its support staff.

Education

Education is not only recession-proof but can also be counter cyclical. Demand for K-12 educators typically remains the same regardless of the economy, since children still need to be educated. At the same time, demand for collegiate and professional educators frequently goes up. As people look at a weak job market, they frequently return to school to upgrade their skills and wait out the recession.

About the Author

Steve Lander has been a writer since 1996, with experience in the fields of financial services, real estate and technology. His work has appeared in trade publications such as the "Minnesota Real Estate Journal" and "Minnesota Multi-Housing Association Advocate." Lander holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Columbia University.